On 28 March, the Mission organized a presentation of the manual on the revised Criminal
Procedure Code in Novi Pazar. Throughout 2013, the Mission supported the
Prosecutors’ Association of Serbia to develop the manual as a guidebook for practitioners,
namely prosecutors, judges and defence counsels, to help them interpret and apply the
revised CPC. The manual also introduces more than 60 suggested templates and formats for
each procedural action in criminal proceedings, from pre-investigation to appeal and
extraordinary legal remedies. The event gathered approximately 20 judges, prosecutors and
academics from southwest Serbia and served as a forum to exchange experiences on the
practical implementation of the revised CPC in multi-ethnic communities.
On 23 April, upon request of the MoI, the Mission started to support the Ministry in the
implementation of the Law on Data Secrecy. Mission experts continue to advise MoI
representatives on implementing criteria and procedures for managing data and classified
information. Until the end of 2014, the Mission provided the relevant authorities with
international and national legal analyses of the current legislation. The full implementation of
the Law on Data Secrecy will help align the Serbian Government’s classification procedures
with international standards and improve co-operation with other law enforcement agencies
throughout Europe.
Police Reform
On 27 February, the Mission organized a public presentation of three policy studies on police
reform issues, produced by Belgrade-based civil society researchers. Representatives from
the MoI, National Assembly, media and international community attended the presentation.
The policy studies covered the issues of psychological support to police officers, human
rights in police education and organized crime. The Mission supported the studies to provide
neutral research and quality recommendations to the MoI on police reform topics important to
all citizens. The topics were agreed on with the MoI. This exercise also helped to build the
capacity of the civil society organizations to develop concise policy recommendations and
contribute to police reform processes in Serbia. Local experts from the Belgrade Centre for
Security Policy, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and Centre for Policy Development and
Cooperation conducted the research.
In two consecutive series of events, from 18-21 March and from 31 March to 2 April, the
Mission supported the MoI’s Basic Police Training Centre (BPTC) in organizing outreach
sessions in south and eastern Serbia to promote the newly published call for the applicants
for the BPTC. The information sessions gathered youth from the ethnic Albanian, Romanian,
Vlach and Roma minority communities in Serbia. The Mission focussed its efforts in the
municipalities of Bujanovac, Presevo, Uzice, Valjevo, Pozarevac, Kikinda, Vranje, Nis,
Prokuplje and Kragujevac. The outreach sessions were implemented with trainers from the
BPTC and provided information on the application process and training programmes. They
also included a discussion about career opportunities in the police service. Each session
gathered some 40 young people. The Mission collaborated with local municipal officials,
schools, civil society organizations and media representatives to secure broad participation
and ensure that information about the open call was properly disseminated throughout the
region. The open recruitment provides the opportunity for the Serbian Government
to encourage all minorities throughout Serbia to pursue careers in the police, fostering a
diverse and representative police service.
On 23 December, the Mission organized a one-day capacity building event for a group of 21
mid-level managers from the Ministry of Interior, representing different organizational units of
the police service. Following the 2014 public opinion poll on citizens’ perception of major
threats, safety concerns, attitudes towards police and the role of media, the event aimed to
raise awareness about the importance of the public opinion survey as a tool for the Ministry
in strategic planning, monitoring and implementing reforms. The training also covered issues
relating to factors that influence the formation of public opinion about police work and other
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